It's interesting that individuals of similar ideologies and schools of thought tend to gather together at one level or another. For example, colleges across the Unites States are predominantly liberal in thought and the southern states tend to attract the republican voters. It's not necessarily that an individual is opposed to living in an environment where most disagree with him. In fact, my own leanings have rarely coincided well with my community's majority, but I find myself associating myself with those whose ideas agree with my own—simply because it comes naturally to appreciate one who shares beliefs. In the book, the Cuckoo's Egg, the main character, while working at Berkeley, begins dedicating all of his time to tracking down a hacker who is breaking into military networks. As he works with government agencies to attempt to bring him down, he asks himself on several occasions, “What would my friends think if they found out I was working with the government?” While he always wonders this in a kind of sarcastic context, there is always a degree of truth behind the comment.
It is extremely difficult to make someone think a different way or accept a different line of thought as correct. There is naturally a bit of uncertainty and fear of judgment from others that comes with change. In particular though, It's incredible how strong the perception of peers' judgment can affect our own line of reasoning. Where one might be inclined to believe a certain way as the result of some event, that individual might be reluctant to change solely because of what peers might say. The influence we allow others to have on us with the respect to the way we think and believe really is a fascinating subject.
